TRP: Goro and Mishka (Guessing Game)
Word count: 5961 Coyote: '''at 9:39 PM Day 191. Goro returns to the castle from his vacation with Hansel. Mishka comes to see him. So far, Mishka had heard the following things. The party kidnapped a dragonborn. Apparently, after Mishka asked him to please stay safe, Goro almost died instead. Fantastic. And then-- instead of waiting for confirmation that Hansel was okay and everything was good-- Goro had taken off to fucking walk to Shepherd Hills like some kind of heathen. Mishka was going to teach that motherfucker to ride a horse. Mishka scoffed and brooded over this bullshit for a week. Then, passing through the entrance one day, he saw something, and he froze. Those... those were Goro's muddy boots by the door. Well, at least Goro's mother had managed to teach him some manners, he supposed. And that... that was his coat, too, hung up on the rack. Mishka didn't think; instead, he just cracked and appeared at Goro's door. He rapped. '''Lina: '''at 9:41 PM Goro scowled at his door. "What?" he yelled. '''Coyote: '''at 9:43 PM "Did you almost fucking die while I was gone?" Mishka yelled through the door. "Are you goddamn deaf? Where you asleep when I told you to stay safe?" '''Lina: '''at 9:46 PM Mishka. Just Mishka. Goro nearly tripped on his rush for the door. He undid all his locks, deactivated the new warding glyph he'd inscribed on the wall just inside, and threw the door open. He grabbed Mishka and hugged him so tight he heard joints popping. He tucked his face against Mishka's shoulder. Mishka could fucking try and shake him off if he wanted, Goro guessed. '''Coyote: '''at 9:54 PM Mishka jumped a little. The only person that casually touched him and manhandled him was Hansel, the only person allowed. He liked it, though. He still caught himself automatically checking around, though. Hallway was empty. Nobody to see Mishka expressing emotion. Still, he angled them into the room, figuring he'd shut the door behind them so they were nice and safe in private-- and then realized, belatedly, this was Goro's room, and he'd never been completely inside it before, and he shouldn't assume he was welcome without being invited. "Ha," Mishka said. "Hello, lover." And he grabbed Goro back and spun him in a circle, then kissed him on the side of the face. '''Lina: '''at 10:01 PM "Mm. I missed you," Goro said into his shoulder. "You're the only damn reason I came back. Well, that's not true." He made himself pull away, and he sighed. "I also got... people to murder, and shit, and there's--" He waved one of his hands in a circle. "Friends and family, you know, fucking, whatever. I want Hansel." He squeezed Mishka's hand and pulled him inside the room. He shut and locked the door, and reactivated the warding glyph. "The password on this is sunflower. You gotta say it before you open the door or it'll explode. There's also one over there by the window." He pointed. "Don't come in through my window." '''Coyote: '''at 10:09 PM This was-- different. Things must've gone well with Hansel. Goro looked... relaxed, and happy, and... he must've stayed at Hansel's house for almost a week, assuming he got there in a normal timeframe. (He was allowed in, now. In the room. Allowed to know the password to Goro's defenses. Interesting. Different. Huh.) "What happens if I crack in?" Mishka said, scanning the room. "Will the glyph still hit?" '''Lina: '''at 10:14 PM "It should, yeah. Don't fucking do that. I set it up to detect movement anywhere in the room. So fucking don't. Partly because I don't want you getting fucking electrocuted, but also because you shouldn't fucking do that. Fucking show up in my room without asking. You'll give me a fucking heart attack." Goro put his arms around him again, from the side this time, and rested his head on Mishka's shoulder. '''Coyote: '''at 10:19 PM Mishka laughed. "Alright, alright. I'll knock." He couldn't imagine why he'd want to be in Goro's room without him there, though. "Wouldn't want to interrupt you with a pretty girl." Mishka checked around one more time, even though it was fucking crazy, and of course they were completely alone. Then, once he was satisfied, he kissed Goro's head, and each of his ears, then his jaw, his neck, and his collarbone. Then made himself stop, because otherwise he'd just go on indefinitely. "You made up with Hansel, then?" He tried not to let himself sound too pleased. '''Lina: '''at 10:23 PM "Uh huh." Fuck. The lump that had been growing in Goro's throat since he'd had to say goodbye at the sanctuary was choking him. He repositioned himself so his face was pressed against Mishka's collarbone--not as easy as it was with Hansel; he had to hunch down some, but so be it. He could feel the tears starting to leak out. '''Coyote: '''at 10:25 PM Mishka almost pulled away, startled, then wrapped his arms around Goro's back. "Koshka, what's wrong? What happened?" '''Lina: '''at 10:29 PM Goro cried incoherently for a moment. Then he sniffled and managed to get some actual words out. "I put on my fuckin'--brave face, since I know it's what he needs, staying there for a while. I didn't let him see how upset I was. But I want him to come home. I don't know how I can do this." His hands grabbed at Mishka desperately, clinging to his shoulders. '''Coyote: '''at 10:33 PM "Ahh. Ah, okay." Mishka hesitated, torn. "Well, you fucking know he wants to... be with you too, you know. And I'm sure he wants to come home." He pulled Goro a little closer, deeper into his arms. "It's good of you to-- let him go for now, y'know. That is the right thing. Maybe some of us can rotate out visiting him. Keep him company. Send him letters, that kind've shit." '''Lina: '''at 10:34 PM "You can't leave." Goro held on even tighter. '''Coyote: '''at 10:35 PM "Well, apparently fucking not. I left for five goddamn days and you almost got cut in half with a fucking battleaxe. Guess I'll just truss you up and toss you over the horse to bring with me." '''Lina: '''at 10:39 PM "Mhm," Goro agreed. He sniffed and pried his face from Mishka's shoulder, blinking tears away. He looked around the room and then tugged Mishka over to sit on the couch with him. He positioned Mishka's arm around him and curled up how he wanted. "Tell me we can't just go live with him. Why we shouldn't both go down to the teleportation circle right now and go after him." '''Coyote: '''at 10:53 PM "Mm." Mishka settled down, amused. He stayed the way Goro positioned him. He liked how Goro did that; just fucking did as he liked and demanded what he wanted. "Well..." He kissed Goro's forehead. "Y'know, this is going to sound kooky, so pardon me. But sometimes when people meet, they sort've resonate with each other. Certain souls are meant to be together. As enemies, or friends, or lovers... and you and Hansel are like that, y'see. You're resonant, and you're meant to be lovers, just like Hans and I are meant to be lovers." Though, admittedly, for a long time, Mishka had thought he and Hansel were meant to destroy each other. Mishka always sort've figured he was meant to break everyone around him. Fate, somehow, or karma. "I know you're apart now, koshka, but the two of you will always find your way back to each other. Hansel will come back when he is ready, and it'll feel glorious when he does." '''Lina: '''at 10:55 PM "You're right. That sounds kooky as fuck." Goro kissed Mishka's cheek. "But I like it when you're kooky." '''Coyote: '''at 10:59 PM "Good, because it doesn't turn off much," Mishka said, amused. "I know you don't believe me, but I'm right, y'know." He tickled Goro's side-- partially just to see if he was ticklish there. "When I die, I'm going to reincarnate, y'know that? And if you're around, or Hansel's around, we'll find each other again. That's how it works." '''Lina: '''at 11:01 PM Goro jerked at the tickling and shoved Mishka's hand away. He repositioned himself more comfortably, using Mishka's shoulder as a pillow. "God, that's... I don't know if I fucking believe that shit, but fuck, that sounds really... soothing." '''Coyote: '''at 11:14 PM "Maybe we're already on the second go-around," Mishka mused to himself. Maybe that's why Mishka had felt instantly drawn to Hansel, back in that pirate bar ten and half years ago. Maybe he'd seen Hansel and thought, Ah, there he is again. '''Lina: '''at 11:20 PM "Psh. Doubt it. Pretty sure my twisted little soul sprang up outta nowhere thirty-three years ago. I'd have learned some fucking lessons by now if it were any older than that." '''Coyote: '''at 11:30 PM Mishka scoffed. He liked the idea of knowing Goro before, though-- maybe they were enemies in their past lives, though, not friends. Maybe they did this weird dance a lot. Maybe in another life, Goro and Mishka were husbands. It explained the electric feeling he'd gotten when he first saw Goro, too. "Well, it's not like you'd remember the lessons." I like your twisted little soul. '''Lina: '''at 6:06 PM Goro didn't really like talking about this kind of shit--souls and past lives and whatever the fuck. Gave him a vague feeling of unease, like he was missing something. He changed the subject. "So, what happened around here while I was gone? Anything exciting?" '''Coyote: '''at 6:12 PM “Tragically, no. Oh— Joan’s vacation is over, apparently, because she’s started picking up strays and hiring them for missions again. She keeps insisting she’s not, but I’m not fuckin’ blind, you know. So I’ve been helping her with that... hm, what else. No, that’s it. Anything terribly exciting happen at Hansel’s house? Add any names to your little hit list?” '''Lina: '''at 6:13 PM "I'm planning to bring his father back from the dead, so that I can kill him again." '''Coyote: '''at 6:15 PM “Oh, that’s an excellent—“ Hang on. “Ah, what method exactly are you planning to use to bring him back?” '''Lina: '''at 6:16 PM "Listen, before you judge me, you should know that asshole used to hit Hansel maybe, and tell him people thought he was a monster. When he was just a kid." '''Coyote: '''at 6:21 PM “Oh sure,” Mishka said. “I mean, murder seems a little harsh. Maybe it’d be more appropriate to do the same back, y’know. Cut out his eyes, cut off his nose and cut off his ears. Use that flesh-melting spell of yours on him. Then leave him alive, you know, so that he’s left to wander the earth... and when people pass and see him, they’ll scream my god, what is that thing. Have people turn him away. Make him watch his every move lest someone think he’s a monster. Anyway, as long as you don’t use that blasted wand again.” '''Lina: '''at 6:22 PM Goro was beaming. "God, Mishka, I love you. Say more dreamy shit to me." '''Coyote: '''at 6:29 PM Mishka scoffed. “Little weirdo. You and Hans— so bloodthirsty.” '''Lina: '''at 6:34 PM Goro climbed onto his lap and kissed his face a few times. "Was your fuckin' idea, love. I'm just lending my support." '''Coyote: '''at 6:40 PM Yeah, yeah. He had a point. Still. Mishka could see he’d lost that point, and he refused to engage in a discussion he was going to lose. He glanced around the room instead— And his eyes fell on a note pinned to the wall above the desk. A familiar note. Huh. Was that—? Oh. The note he’d written Goro when he was drunk. He recognized his own handwriting, the shape of the paragraphs, the paper. Mishka blinked at a little, and an odd feeling lit up his chest. Goro had kept it. Goro reread it. Pinned it somewhere to look at. “Ah,” Mishka said, “right, ah— support.” '''Lina: '''at 6:43 PM "Anyway, that's great fucking news about Joan. This retirement bullshit, I never bought it. She's not a 'retirement' kind of person, you know? Half the reason she and Amari fought. Ugh." Goro didn't really want to think about that too much. He tucked his face against Mishka's neck instead. '''Coyote: '''at 6:49 PM “Yeah, true.” Mishka wondered, briefly, if he ought to mention getting wasted and showing up at Amari’s that one time a few weeks ago. Nah. Nah, probably not. “Well— maybe Amari will— y’know, see a different side of it eventually...” '''Lina: '''at 6:51 PM "Not likely. The woman doesn't have an adventurous bone in her body, I don't think. I bet she and Joan can work it out, though, someday. Some way or another. Compromise, n'shit." '''Coyote: '''at 9:16 PM "Yeah, yeah. Y'know Amari. Always calm and talking. And y'know Joan. Always relentless. People find their way back to each other." Mishka settled a little deeper into the couch and shifted so that Goro was settled more comfortable against him. He rested his face against Goro's short, thick, tangled hair and breathed. He never realized how tense he was until Hansel or Goro made him sit down and relax. He'd missed this. '''Lina: '''at 9:19 PM "Hey so, guess what." '''Coyote: '''at 9:21 PM "You added another dragon to your kill list." '''Lina: '''at 9:22 PM "Oh, gosh, you know, you're not that far off, actually. Except there's two of them, and they're pseudodragons, and they're actually fiends because they're someone's familiar, and I'm going to kill the someone. So, you know, only four or five steps off there." '''Coyote: '''at 9:24 PM "Oh, good gods," Mishka said. "Alright, that means this new person must've attacked someone you love... so they must be some kind've new threat to Hansel... or myself, I suppose, or Larkin, or Amari, or Joan or Roddy... or you've adopted yet another person and are announcing your intention to die for them." '''Lina: '''at 9:25 PM "Well, you're getting warmer with that last bit, but still not there." '''Coyote: '''at 9:28 PM "Mm. Okay, so the new person you're dying for thing is the warm part. Alright. You found out you have a long-lost sister. You adore her, but you've found out that she's beset by an evil wizard with two pseudodragon familiars, and you must slay him him in single combat to free her. This is your last night before the fight, and you've come to say goodbye to me." '''Lina: '''at 9:30 PM "Fucking amazing. I love it. You ever think about writing a book?" Goro paused to kiss him. "Anyway, you're getting so fucking warm, it's not even funny. Now, what if I told you it's not a long-lost sister, so much as a one-night stand." '''Coyote: '''at 9:31 PM Mishka was so startled he started laughing. "Goro. What, did another dashing villain come along and poison your coworker's kid again?" '''Lina: '''at 9:33 PM "Well... uh... god, yeah. Not poison him, but recruit him to join her guild?" '''Coyote: '''at 9:40 PM Mishka sat up straight, scandalized. Some dashing villain came along and seduced his half-elf while he was gone? "It's not fucking Gavi, is it?" Did Gavi have a guild? "Goro, you can do far fucking better than that fucking half-orc who broke your fucking fingers and put her wretched hand over your mouth." '''Lina: '''at 9:43 PM "What the fuck, no. God." Goro snorted. "God, have you not been paying attention to anything about this shit with the Sanguines?" '''Coyote: '''at 9:44 PM "Look, I panicked. Fucking orc." Then Mishka's brain caught up to his mouth, and he sat up even straighter. "Goro," he said, delighted and scandalized. "Goro. You twisted little creature. Really?" '''Lina: '''at 9:48 PM "Listen, she was... saying all this nice shit about me, and she seemed into me, and then I asked her if she was into men and from there it was like a hop, skip and a jump to renting a room, and... well, I thought I could get information out of her. And boy, did I." '''Coyote: '''at 9:50 PM "Goddamn," Mishka said. "Well-- excellent. Good fucking job." He caught Goro's face between his hands and kissed him. He couldn't help but feel oddly pleased. Sneaky bastard. He wanted to ask about the information, but first he decided to be a dick. "Was it any good?" '''Lina: '''at 9:51 PM "It was alright. Eh, you know, first time with a woman, I didn't really know what I was doing. But I figured it out." '''Coyote: '''at 9:53 PM "Mm. So what did you find out for us?" Then Mishka's brain caught up a second time, and he said, "Wait. Hang on. So this new person you've decided to kill for-- it's Wyn?" '''Lina: '''at 9:57 PM "Well I mean--no." Goro could feel himself turning red. "I mean I'm not--killing for her, but--it'd be good to help her, I think, but look, the main thing is taking down the Sanguine Queen--that's her boss, the pseudodragons Wyn's always got on her, they're her boss's. She was telling me shit in thieves' cant when it couldn't see us, but could still hear us. They're keeping really close tabs on her. This whole time we've been thinking it was Morgan Wyn we had to worry about, but it's not, not directly. Mishka, I don't even know--I don't know how much of a choice she's got, or--I mean she could still be a sadistic heinous bitch, I don't know." '''Coyote: '''at 10:01 PM "Huh," Mishka said. His expression slowly changed. She's either playing him or she's a really fucking interesting ally. "Huh," Mishka said again. "That's... that's fucking fascinating." '''Lina: '''at 10:03 PM "I know what you're thinking," Goro said. "It's a fucking trap, right? She sleeps with me and then pretends to be, I don't know, a goddamn damsel in distress. But here's the thing. Roddy heard from Amren that Wyn's got a boss, and it's the only thing she's scared of. She gets real freaked out at the mention." '''Coyote: '''at 10:10 PM "Well, yeah, I think it's a trap." God, though, Mishka loved traps. Where was Hansel? They needed Hansel to be the sensible one. Or Larkin. "God, that's so good, though. She's not sure about your alliance, so she sleeps with you, then acts like she needs help taking down her boss... then, bam, you fall for it, you act like you want to save her, now she knows you're not really interested in working for the Sanguines." '''Lina: '''at 10:11 PM Goro scowled. '''Coyote: '''at 10:11 PM "What?" Mishka said. '''Lina: '''at 10:11 PM "I didn't fall for shit! I really think we need to fuck up her boss." '''Coyote: '''at 10:14 PM "Yeah, yeah. No, I'm on your side, I think we should try to recruit her and kill her boss," Mishka said. "I just don't think we should, y'know, trust her. Maybe she's telling the truth, maybe not. Ugh. I hate to be the voice of logic, here, but y'know, it's possible she is genuinely scared of her boss and she is genuinely being coerced, but she's still... well, y'know, evil. It could be both." '''Lina: '''at 10:15 PM "Yeah, no, absolutely. Hundred percent agree with you there. But also, I think I wanna fuck her again." Goro smiled. '''Coyote: '''at 10:18 PM Mishka scoffed, amused. Five minutes ago Goro said the sex was alright, and now he wanted to go at it again. "Attracted to danger, huh?" '''Lina: '''at 10:18 PM "God, are you just now getting that?" '''Coyote: '''at 10:29 PM Mishka laughed. "No, just wondering if I should grow a mustache so I can twirl it villainously for you." He kissed Goro again. What a clever half-elf he had. '''Lina: '''at 10:33 PM Goro kissed him back a few times. "Hell, no. You're obviously the dashing pretty boy villain, not the one with the mustache." '''Coyote: '''at 10:38 PM "Mhmm." Mishka hummed contentedly between kisses. He melted, a little, but tried very hard not to. "Well... as long as... she doesn't fucking... shank you mid-fuck or something. She sounds like a difficult person to kill. Sounds inconvenient, frankly." '''Lina: '''at 10:46 PM "She had a no-weapons-in-the-bedroom policy. Which..." Goro pulled away for a moment and frowned. "I actually forgot to search her. She said I could search her." '''Coyote: '''at 10:48 PM "Goro. Oh my god. I need to put you on a fucking leash," Mishka said. "Or-- god, get you another wristband. Search the woman before you fuck her. Gracious." Then again, Mishka didn't need a weapon to kill somebody. Hopefully she wasn't a spellcaster. '''Lina: '''at 10:54 PM "I mean, she didn't search me either. And I actually have magic. I coulda fried her. I'm not... actually sure how she defends herself. Maybe she wants to die. Oh, eeuugh." Goro cringed. That was fucking depressing. '''Coyote: '''at 10:57 PM "Nah," Mishka said. "What's life without a little risk? Or maybe she had some way to defend herself. Even if you attacked her, it wouldn't be that hard to get away. It'd be impossible to kill her in one hit. Listen, though..." '''Lina: '''at 10:59 PM "What?" Goro's eyes were unfocused. He was remembering the white scar between her shoulder blades, and the matching one between two ribs on her chest. '''Coyote: '''at 11:01 PM "Please try to avoid things like letting people tie you up and give you handjobs until, like, the third date," Mishka said. "I swear to god, if I find out she killed you. I swear to god." '''Lina: '''at 11:02 PM "Huh?" Goro blinked. "She didn't tie me up. Fuck, she apologized when she scratched me with her fingernail accidentally." '''Coyote: '''at 11:04 PM "Mm. Well. Alright." Goro didn't have the best self-preservation instincts, sometimes. Ah well. '''Lina: '''at 11:09 PM "I mean, I did have the distinct thought, as I was taking off all my weapons to hand over to the bartender, that if you were there you'd probably try to talk me out of it." '''Coyote: '''at 11:13 PM "Ha. Take me with you next time. I'll disguise myself as a patron and wait outside the room for any screaming." '''Lina: '''at 11:14 PM "Gosh, you'd do that for me? Dastardly villain that you are?" Goro grinned and kissed his cheek. '''Coyote: '''at 11:21 PM "Maybe I just want to enjoy the screaming. Never said I'd do anything about it." Mishka shifted so that he sat in Goro's lap, straddling his waist. "I mean, more likely I'd crack into the room, cut her throat, then vanish with you. Then, I suppose, I'd make you apologize very nicely for almost getting murdered and make you heal yourself. I do enjoy your gasping and shouting and crying, but I'd rather hear it when we're alone together, not when you're being murdered by Morgan Wyn." '''Lina: '''at 11:23 PM "Mm." Goro looked distant again. "There'd be worse ways to go, though." '''Coyote: '''at 8:00 AM "Frankly, how will I even know you're being murdered," Mishka said. "The noises would probably be the same." '''Lina: '''at 9:56 AM "Shut up, you don't know." Goro turned warm again and shoved Mishka's shoulder. "I mean, you don't know what I sound like when I'm dying." '''Coyote: '''at 10:01 AM “Fair.” All the times Goro almost died, Mishka hadn’t been there. Mishka was pleased, and warm, and relaxed, and he wanted to keep flirting. But he forced himself to stop, and forced himself to focus. He played absentmindedly with a lock do Goro’s hair. “So d’you suppose she’s willing to work with us? Bare minimum, if she’s got a grudge against her boss, then maybe she’ll help us kill them, even if it turns out later she’s... evil, or a bad ally.” '''Lina: '''at 10:38 AM "That's what I'm banking on, yeah. You know what her favorite trick is, right? She finds turncoats. She wants to take a group over, she'll sniff out anyone who's feeling discontented with the current leadership, and turn them against their boss." He grinned. This was fucking thrilling. "I wanna give her a taste of her own medicine." '''Coyote: '''at 10:46 AM Huh. Finding turncoats. That was clever. Mishka tried to suppress his automatic reaction, which was: Neat. “I like it,” Mishka said. “Hey. You said she had two familiars with her? That... seems wrong. How does her boss have two familiars?” '''Lina: '''at 10:54 AM "Well, they're never there at the same time. So at first I thought they were just getting swapped out for, I don't know, fuckin' variety or something. But now I kinda think she's got two bosses, and they've each got a familiar, and they're... taking shifts, somehow. She was doing this thing--" Goro mimed opening and closing a pocket watch with his thumb. "Click, check, click, check, I mean, with a watch. Listen, it's hard to explain if you weren't there." '''Coyote: '''at 11:31 AM “Huh. That’d make sense, yeah. If the familiar is watching her... whoever is watching her must sleep sometime. Otherwise she’d just be able to do whatever she wanted whenever her boss was resting for the night. Must be shifts, yeah. I wonder... I wonder what hold they have over her. Or if she’s just scared of them. I mean, there’s a difference between recruiting someone who’s scared and someone whose kid is being held hostage.” '''Lina: '''at 1:26 PM "I don't know. She seems... almost fucking resigned to it, if that makes sense. I asked her, you know, while we were signing I asked her, do you need help, and you know what she said?" Goro unconsciously signed the words out again as he said them. "She shook her head and said too strong. Not 'I'm fine,' not 'nah I love my job,' not 'nah I got this.' She said too strong." '''Coyote: '''at 1:32 PM A prickle crawled down Mishka’s spine. Too strong. It reminded him for himself, for a moment. Destroying everything around him because the dragon was too big to fight. Doing what it said. Never daring to even ask for help. “Well,” Mishka said. “We’ll figure it out, then. How do we communicate with her, though? D’you suppose you can just keep banging her and signing at her?” '''Lina: '''at 1:39 PM "Nah, I mean, cant is no good for in-depth stuff, you know that. I got a way better idea. I'm gonna get Ombre to send me into her dream. You think there's a chance whoever-the-fuck, the Sanguine Queen, is monitoring her thoughts even? Must not be, or she wouldn't've signed to me. So, yeah. Dream." But hopefully, also, the keep banging her part. Goro smiled to himself. '''Coyote: '''at 1:44 PM “Mmm.” Mishka thought this over. It was a great idea. God, he was just too pleased to think. What a clever half-elf. So good. So excellent. He touched Goro idly, stroking his back, feeling his spine. “What d’you s’pose you’ll ask her?” '''Lina: '''at 1:47 PM "Fuckin'... don't know yet. I'm not going in with a list of questions prepared. We'll see if she even gives me the time of day now, seeing as she probably knows we were the ones who took Amren." '''Coyote: '''at 1:52 PM “Oh,” Mishka said. “Well... y’know... '''if I’ve learned anything, sometimes it’s good to like... look ahead and ask yourself what you’re gonna do if you win. I mean, what are you gonna say if you get into the Dream and she’s delighted to talk to you? Oh no, I won?” '''Lina: '''at 1:56 PM "Eh. If she's delighted to see me maybe I'll just make out with her for a while." Goro grinned and gave Mishka a kiss. "You got any suggestions? What'd be the most useful shit to ask, you think?" '''Coyote: '''at 2:00 PM “Ha. You want the dramatic answer or the practical answer?” '''Lina: '''at 2:42 PM "Aw. Can't I hear both? I want you to make me swoon and I want good advice." '''Coyote: '''at 2:47 PM Mishka mused to himself. “Well, I was going to say, y’know, take her hand, stare deep into her eyes, and ask her what you need to do to save her. But I doubt she’s that kind of woman. Probably just amuse her. In fact, it might make her more stubborn not to be helped.” Let me help you, Goro had said to Mishka months ago. That had been smooth as hell. Maybe he could reuse that. '''Lina: '''at 2:50 PM Goro snorted. "Well, I'll add that to my toolkit, just in case." '''Coyote: '''at 2:53 PM Mishka kept working it out aloud. “Ask her why she’s working for the Sanguine Queen. Ask her if both the pseudodragons belong to the same person. Ask her how long she’s been working for the Queen. Ask her if the Queen has any leverage over her...” '''Lina: '''at 2:59 PM Goro nodded along. "Mhm. Wait. Hang on." He squeezed Mishka's hand and hopped off the couch, darting to his desk. "I'm gonna write these down." He turned over loose scraps of paper, all the remnants of the notes he'd started to Hansel, searching for a blank one. There was fuck-all. He needed to get some new paper. As he reached for one of his notebooks instead, his eyes fell on the letter Mishka had sent to him, pinned on the wall above the desk. He froze, eyes darting back toward Mishka. He tore the note down and stuffed it inside his pocket. He brought a pen and the notebook back over to the couch, flipped to a clean page and started writing. "Alright. Keep going." '''Coyote: '''at 3:03 PM “You kept my note.” Mishka tried to hide the blatant pleasure in his voice and failed. '''Lina: '''at 3:05 PM "What note," Goro snapped, tip of the pen digging into the page. His stomach did a flip. '''Coyote: '''at 3:08 PM “The one in your pocket,” Mishka said, smirking. '''Lina: '''at 3:08 PM "Ahhh," Goro grumbled, and said nothing more. He drew little swirls on the paper instead of words. '''Coyote: '''at 3:16 PM Aw, no. Mishka blinked. He felt bad a moment— like maybe this was an actual sore spot, something he shouldn’t poke fun at. Something he shouldn’t be gloating about. He decided not to press it. He shifted closer again and pulled Goro against him so they were sitting comfortably together, but Goro could still write. He kissed Goro’s shoulder. He waited to see if Goro would let it happen, if Goro would settle. '''Lina: '''at 3:50 PM Goro drew a few more swirls on the page. He cleared his throat. "Did you keep my notes?" '''Coyote: '''at 3:53 PM Mishka felt his face get hot. He reminded himself, not for the first time, that he was dangerous and deadly and cunning, not young and naive. “Ah.” He regretted everything. Teasing Goro. All of it. Everything. “Well.” Correllon. “Yes. I liked them. They’re mine.” '''Lina: '''at 3:55 PM A grin spread slowly over Goro's face. He could feel Mishka flushing, but he kept his eyes on the notebook. "Oh yeah? You're a real sappy guy, huh." '''Coyote: '''at 3:59 PM Mishka scoffed. “I am not sappy. I’m— I’m passionate. Romantic. Y’know, how— how dare you. Coming here and accusing me of... of...” '''Lina: '''at 4:01 PM "'Coming here,' to my own bedroom, you mean?" He gave Mishka a cheeky smile. "Door's right over there, if you don't like it, Mishie. You could go console yourself reading my notes over for the hundred and seventy-fourth time." '''Coyote: '''at 4:04 PM Mishka scoffed, then realized he’d just scoffed a few seconds ago too, then got so embarrassed he scoffed again. He dug his fingers into Goro’s sides, trying to find a ticklish weak spot. “I swear on my god, if you ever call me that horrifying pet name again, I will dump you off a cliff.” '''Lina: '''at 4:08 PM "This is fucking amazing," Goro said, snorting and wiggling away from Mishka's grasp. "I've known Mikhail Haeth for fuckin' months, and I'm only just now learning his greatest weakness. Fucking exposed. Hey, Mishka, do you love your husband, too? Damn, that's embarrassing. He make you feel all warm and fuzzy inside?" '''Coyote: '''at 4:25 PM “Maybe, asshole. Maybe you do too, alright? Don’t goddamn tell anyone.” Mishka kept grinning. He shifted closer, following him, still looking for a ticklish spot. He crawled on top of Goro to hold him down. “Apologize for calling me Mishie. My ego demands it.” '''Lina: '''at 4:25 PM "Oh, I will. Right after I go find Nixie and tell her you hate it when she calls you that." '''Coyote: '''at 4:28 PM “Oh, that’s tragic. Not you telling Nixie, I mean. I mean the tragic accident that’s going to befall you right now, immediately, where you disappeared and then no one ever found the body.” '''Lina: '''at 4:36 PM "Mm, sounds harrowing. Think of my poor mother, living out her days wondering what happened to me. Why don't I ever write? Why don't I ever Send?" Goro looped his arm around Mishka's waist, holding him tightly in place. "How're you gonna do it? Suppose you'll have to encase me in lead, to hide me from scrying magic." '''Coyote: '''at 4:43 PM Mishka scoffed. “Well, I suppose if I have to get rid of you I may as well not kill you... might just keep you somewhere instead. Locked in a tall tower in the middle of the woods, forced to spend your days singing to songbirds. What’s that old fairytale? The one about the knight and the girl with long hair...” Mishka hummed to himself. '''Lina: '''at 4:44 PM "Uh." Goro tugged on Mishka's braid. "Something feels a little backwards here." '''Coyote: '''at 4:48 PM “Oh, you think I should be the damsel in distress? I’m not the damsel in distress. I am the distress,” Mishka said. “Mm, this is sounding better the more I think about it. All stashed away, out of danger, all mine, nicely set aside... oh, but I suppose then Hansel would be the knight in shining armor who comes to slay me, the evil sorcerer who has his boyfriend captive. Tragic.” '''Lina: '''at 4:50 PM Goro snorted. "Slay you? More like you'd fall into a swoon as soon as he came storming in and you saw how dashing he was. Then he'd carry us both out, one over each shoulder." '''Coyote: '''at 4:51 PM “Don’t be ridiculous. I have to put up a fight, first.” '''Lina: '''at 4:53 PM "Oh, yeah. He likes that, from what I hear." '''Coyote: '''at 4:56 PM Mishka laughed. “Stop talking about Hansel coming to kidnap us both— and stop talking about seducing deadly crime bosses. You’re getting me all worked up.” He got off Goro and sat on the couch like a regular person. '''Lina: '''at 7:43 PM Goro picked up his pen and notebook that had fallen aside when Mishka climbed on top of him. He snuggled against Mishka, positioning himself under his arm again. "Yes, well. You're going to have to pull yourself together, and help me plot. C'mon, two evil geniuses, putting their heads together. This is an opportunity that can't be missed." end Title: Guessing Game. Summary: Mishka and Goro reunite after Goro returns from Shepherd Hills. Mishka consoles him about Hansel being gone and Goro fills Mishka in on the latest Sanguine plotting. Category:Text Roleplay